Page 48 of Stealing Home

“That doesn’t mean I should grope you in it.”

Gavin glanced over his shoulder. “That was a grope?”

Dom’s ears turned pink and Gavin looked away before Dom could see how much he enjoyed the thought.

He made quick work of chopping the herbs, then took a seat at the island to watch Dom. He was at home in the kitchen in a way Gavin hadn’t expected, working from memory and barely glancing at what his hands were doing. He tasted the sauce, added salt, tasted it again, then muttered something in Italian under his breath.

“What was that?” Gavin asked.

Dom looked up. “The ancestors telling me I should have added more garlic.” Dom grinned at him, and Gavin returned it.

Of course he spoke Italian. Gavin filed the detail away with all the others he’d collected over the past two months. To the baseball world, Dominic Rizzo was the smiling first baseman who joked through interviews, made impossible catches, and somehow charmed everyone he met. Gavin was beginning to discover there were layers beneath all that easy confidence. Every conversation seemed to uncover another one.

From the living room came Evan’s low voice, followed by CJ’s laugh. Dom glanced toward the sound and his face relaxed into a smile. The tension he’d been carrying since he opened the door disappeared and the last trace of apology faded from his face.

“They just make themselves comfortable every time they come over here,” Dom grumbled. He was smiling, though, so Gavin suspected he didn’t really mind. “I should start charging them rent.”

“Do you really think that would stop them?” Gavin wondered. “I think you’d have more success if you stopped feeding them first,” Gavin pointed out.

Dom looked scandalized. “That’s not happening.”

“Then I don’t think you’re getting rid of them.”

Dom laughed, bright and unguarded, and Gavin felt the sound lodge somewhere beneath his ribs. He cleared his throat just as Evan appeared in the doorway.

“Do you guys need any help?”

Dom looked around. “We’ve still got about twenty minutes before everything is ready, but can you set the table?”

Evan nodded and crossed the room to open a drawer next to the refrigerator, grabbing four linen napkins. He shifted and opened another drawer to grab silverware, and Gavin raised an eyebrow at his familiarity.

Dom caught the look and smirked. “Like I said.”

Gavin’s mouth twitched. “Do you have a corkscrew?”

Dom pointed him toward the correct drawer without looking. Gavin found it, uncorked the wine, confirmed everyone wanted a glass, and poured while the conversation flowed easily around the kitchen.

He’d expected to spend the evening searching for a way into conversations built on years of shared history and inside jokes he didn’t understand. Instead, they were making an effort to include him. Whenever an old story came up, someone paused long enough to fill in the missing pieces without making it feel like an explanation. If Gavin mentioned something from the renovation, Dom immediately jumped in to give Evan and CJ just enough context to keep everyone laughing together. It felt effortless.

And every time Gavin spoke, Dom looked at him. Not for long. Just a quick turn of his head, a flicker of attention before the conversation moved on again. Gavin probably wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been watching Dom just as closely.

Dom tasted the sauce again, frowned, added a pinch of salt and stirred, then sampled it once more. He frowned and looked at Gavin. “Come here?”

Gavin set his wineglass on the island and crossed the few steps between them.

“I’ve been tasting this for hours.” Dom held up the wooden spoon. “Tell me if I’ve lost all objectivity.”

Gavin could have taken the spoon from him. Instead, he leaned in and tasted the sauce exactly as it was offered. The flavor exploded across his tongue, and it took all his self-control not to moan in pleasure. The tomato was rich and sweet from hours on the stove, balanced by wine, garlic, and basil. It tasted like Sunday afternoons and family traditions. It was perfection.

“That’s incredible,” Gavin said, staring at Dom in amazement.

Dom’s smile came easily, and he flushed. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Gavin said quietly.

The spoon remained between them for another heartbeat before Dom lowered it. They stared at each other for a long moment until Gavin stepped back before anyone noticed how close they were standing, and he forgot why he was supposed to keep his distance.

“Pasta’s ready,” Dom said, his voice rougher than it had been a moment before.